


Frostbitten

by Peonydkingpin



Category: DRAMAtical Murder
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Suicidal Thoughts, not really that sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-28
Updated: 2014-06-28
Packaged: 2018-02-06 13:18:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1859478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peonydkingpin/pseuds/Peonydkingpin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s been ten years, he reminded himself. Everything will be different. Just because you got lost somewhere doesn't mean that the rest of the world stopped with you.</p><p> </p><p>Finally, Koujaku returns from the Mainland. Whether or not it was the right decision remains to be seen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Frostbitten

Frostbitten

The chill of the swing sent a shiver up Koujaku’s spine. He could feel the frost cling against the silk of his kimono and the chains were no better, practically freezing his bare fingers against them. His breaths made small puffs in the cold evening air and he watched them as they silently faded away into nothing.

Midnight had passed awhile ago as the December sky filled with heavy clouds.

“Looks like snow,” Koujaku mumbled as another shiver overcame him.

 _Damn, I should have unpacked my winter coat before I left…._ He stuffed his hands under his armpits and turned back to the clouds ahead. _Great going Koujaku. Do you even own mittens?_

With a click of his tongue he chastised himself, mentally making note to finish unpacking the few boxes that littered his new room.

 

 

It was Koujaku’s first night back on the island. When he was young he had lived there but after… ‘family complications,’ he had to move back to the mainland. And now, over ten years later, he had finally returned.

He had spent the day unpacking, but his mind really was not on the task. With every opened box came another long packed away memory. Finally, after hours spent working with little success, he set out. He really did not have any particular destination in mind.

 _It’s been ten years,_ he reminded himself. _Everything will be different._ _Just because you got lost somewhere doesn’t mean that the rest of the world stopped with you._

He sighed to himself and let his feet take control and, before he could realize what had happened, he stepped past the park’s fence.

 

 

Everything was so much smaller than Koujaku had remembered. The monkey bars hardly reached his nose, the slide was far too cramped to hold his frame. Even the swing squished his hips a bit too much.

And although the changes seemed striking, they were small, minor things. The swing set was still the same color. The frost covered sand beneath his feet looked just as it always had. The tree in the corner of the park still grew strong. The familiarity set his racing thoughts to rest, chasing away the dark thoughts and letting his happy memories shine through.

That slide over there, that was where Koujaku first met him. And over there, under the jungle gym, that was where Koujaku would always find him when he was crying. And the swing, right next to the one he was in, that was where he always sat while he waited. He, as in Aoba. Koujaku’s best friend. The only light left in his world of shadows.

He shifted and pulled a pack of cigarettes from his back pocket. Once lit, the warmth it gave off was little, though he still welcomed it.

With a soft exhale he released the smoke into the night sky, watching it slowly disappear.

 _What am I even doing here…_ he wondered with a sigh. There was no answer in sight. A million possible reasons bubbled in the back of his mind but he would not—could not—acknowledge them. Instead he finished the last few drags of his cigarette before snuffing it out under the heel of his sandal.

After that he sat in silence, not quite sure if he should stay but also not wanting to leave with all his heart. He swayed back and forth, the cry of chains against the swing set the only audible sound. He was far too tall now, his feet stuck to the ground even when he pushed away.

 _This is ridiculous…._ _A grown man such as myself swinging in a park at what—one in the morning in the middle of winter? Absurd. What am I waiting for, anyway? It’s not like anything’s going to happen…._

He stood to his feet and readjusted his kimono, thoroughly annoyed at his foolishness. There was no one to wait for—no one in their right mind would be in a park this late at night. He would not show up, Koujaku knew that. He knew that very will, yet the faint idea held his feet to the ground. This was a stupid and pointless trip.

Just as pointless as coming back to Midorijima after all this time. What was he hoping to accomplish? He did not even know if seeing Aoba would really even help. It probably would not, and Koujaku knew that too. If anything, his return was just to give himself one last glance, one last assurance that everything else in the world was fine, even as he himself continued in a downward spiral. It was a way to reassure himself that everything was okay without him. That he was not needed anymore. That he could continue on with his final duty and rid the world of the two most disgusting, evil beings in it.

But before he could do any of that he needed to see Aoba, just one last time. He _needed_ to see that smile again. He _needed_ to know that the little boy with rosy cheeks so often stained with tears was alright now. He _needed_ to know that Aoba had grown up and that he could take care of himself now. He _needed_ to know that he was forgotten.

If no one in the world remembered him, then he could continue on with a lighter heart. If not one remembered, then he would not be hurting anyone else by seeking his revenge and atoning for his sins.

He knew what the outcome of this meeting would be from the beginning, even though he pushed it away and tried to forget.

Koujaku shook his head, as if he believed that thoughts could be scattered from ones mind as easily as water shaken from hair. Slowly he came back to his senses and he shuddered violently. The night air had grown even colder, the chill biting at his exposed skin. He turned and hurried off to the park fence in a rush. A glance at his toes (why oh why had he worn sandals?) told him they were almost blue—how long had he just been standing there staring off into space?

Before he could look back up he crashed straight into something—no, someone.

“ _Hey!_ Watch where you’re going—!”

Koujaku quickly opened his mouth to apologize and froze. Familiar hazel eyes gazed back at him, the surprised look in them a mirror of his own.

“…Aoba?”

“Koujaku—!”

They both opened their mouths to speak at the same time, accidently cutting each other off. Silence followed as the two looked each other over.

 _He’s grown so much…._  Koujaku could hardly recognize him. He no longer had those cute cheeks plump with baby fat. The top of his head reached up to Koujaku’s jaw now, something he never had done before.

But he was not completely different. The determined look in his eyes remained, along with the fluffy look of his blue mop of hair.

_It’s grown even longer…. Does he still refuse to cut it?_

They stared silently at each other before Aoba cracked a smile.

_That’s the same, too._

“So much for keeping in touch, you big oaf….” Just as before, his harsh words did nothing to hide the emotion in his voice.

Koujaku smiled back, almost surprising himself. He had not really smiled in years.

“Sorry it took so long.”

The smaller boy—no, man now. He must be twenty something now at least—shook his head, possibly trying to keep any tears from spilling over.

“Whatever. You’re here now. You look freezing.” His eyes pierced right through him, as they always had. “Why don’t you come over and have some tea or something. I’m sure Granny would love to see you.”

“Aoba… isn’t it a bit late for that?” At his confused look Koujaku continued, “It’s almost two.”

“What? No way! Your sense of time must be getting way off in your old age, it’s only like,” he paused and looked at his coil, “1:47?! Shit, I’m late! I thought it was only eleven!” Again Aoba surprised him by making him laugh. “ _Shit_ …. Granny’s gonna kill me if I come home now…. I’m staying at your place and that’s final.”

Koujaku shook his head slightly, a chuckle still on his lips. Maybe Aoba had not changed so much after all.

“Fine, but I don’t have any tea at my apartment. Or anything else, for that matter.”

“Nothing else? As in nothing to eat? Nothing at all?”

“Oi, I just moved in, give me a break.”

Aoba gave him a look that he recognized very well, one that Tae-san had made time and time again when she nagged at the two of them. Aoba shook his head disapprovingly and grabbed his wrist, pulling him down the street.

“First, snacks, second, heat. You _do_ have a heater right?”

“Of course. I’m not stupid, Aoba.” Koujaku shook his arm free and caught up to walk beside him. Aoba merely rolled his eyes and muttered about what a ‘stupid hippo’ he was. Just the simple fact that he remembered warmed Koujaku’s heart. Maybe staying for a while was not so bad…. Mattering to someone, just for a while, could not hurt them too much, could it?

He walked quietly beside his childhood friend. It would not hurt to put off his vengeance, just for a while. Perhaps coming home was not such a bad idea.

“Oh… Koujaku?”

He roused himself from his thoughts and smiled over at him. “Yes?”

“Why were you in that park anyway?”

Koujaku felt his cheeks flush brighter than the pink the cold had given them. “No reason!”

Aoba snorted and gave him a look that said he did not believe a word he said. “Mhmm.”

“Really!”


End file.
